LexusBum

Hi,
Question for everyone. Would you buy a 2000 GS400 that has about 35K on it, but been involved in serious rear end collision about a year ago that was repaired by Lexus?

Please let me know what you think.
Thank you.
S.

Johnny Mo

You need to find out what kind of warranty the person got on the repair, and if that warranty is transferrable. It doesn't matter that Lexus did the repair all that much, because they would normally sub it out to a body shop anyway. I would probably look to get the car on a frame machine to check the alignment of all the repaired work. If the car has a SALVAGE TITLE then stay the hell away, I don't care what kind of deal you think you are getting. Check the tires for uneven wear, have the wheel alignment checked by a professional. Check to see how the paint matches, look for any uneven body part gaps etc.


Good luck.

kevs

Well said.

LexusBum

Thank Johnny Mo for the info. The car has the clean title and has the remainder of the original Lexus warranty (about 1 year or 15k miles). I was thinking to get an extended warranty from Lexus to protect my self from any problems down the road. Can you please tell me what would be the most obvious sign that there was a frame damage from the accident?

barry gershinzo

get a copy of the repair bill, it should list all the parts replaced and all the work done. dont be suprised by the cost, my 98 was tapped in a rear end collision and the total cost of repair was over $20,000, and my golf clubs which were in the trunk didnt even move! if the shock towers were replaced, you had frame damage.

LexusBum

Hey Barry. Thank you for your advice. I will go over the list of repairs and try to look if shock towers were replaced. The total repair bill for this car was about $12,000.

gs400998

With so many pre-owned on the market, why risk your money on a GS involved in a SERIOUS collision.

LexusBum

The reason is that the price that I can get the car is only $21100. It is Black on Black with PREMIUM PKG.

BuyERTS

Maybe there's a reason the price is so low. Caveat emptor...

98NavGS400

Uhh, its been in a serious acccident.

LexusBum

Hey 98NavGS400. The $12K in damage does sound like the serious accident, but if there was no frame damage and the car still under Lexus warranty will that be a good price for it ( 21K) ???

aliga

iTrader: (147)

If you can get the car below kbb wholesale - 5K, then I would say it is worth it.

limoZeen

lexus typically doesnt do auto body repair. they almost always send things out to a 3rd party company who specialized in auto body work. id be very surprised if a lexus dealer actually did the work themselves. find out who did the repairs and look at the paperwork for it. see what had to be fixed etc then decide what to do.

BuyERTS

Yeah, I did read the thread before I posted.

I guess my point was that if whatever was damaged in the accident has been repaired, then I'd expect the price to be slightly less than the average selling price for a similar vehicle without the accident history. The price on this vehicle seems to be well below the normal price for such a vehicle. Why? Perhaps there is something wrong with the vehicle that couldn't be fixed or wasn't fixed?

Based on the price, it seems like the seller REALLY wants to get rid of it. I'd be really cautious.

There are often exceptions to the rule, but you usually get what you pay for.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

The car itself *might* be fine if it was repaired well. As you say you do have a year basically to find out....

HOWEVER, I would personally consider this car only if I were going to drive it into the ground and not try to resell it. If you DO buy it and find out something serious is wrong (and not covered under warranty for whatever reason), you are basically going to be stuck with the car. If you are concerned and suspicious about the car now, just think what a third party down the road is going to be? Resale is going to be pretty bad (as evidenced by the deal you're looking at for the car).